EC patients deserve proactive not reactive DOH management

I have written to the Health Ombudsman and requested a full investigation into all conditions and circumstances in the Oncology Department of the PE Provincial Hospital that led to the breakdown of their last functional lift eight days ago. To view the letter, please click here:

Under the curatorship of the ANC-led provincial government, the formerly well maintained PE Provincial Hospital fell into disrepair when the only functional lift available for Oncology patients broke down. These patients were forced to climb seven flights of stairs to get to their ward for eight days yet the Department of Health (DOH) had promised to repair the broken lift by Friday, 13 April 2018.

The lift has now been repaired but it simply isn’t good enough for a large Provincial Department of Health to act only once a major dereliction of duty has been exposed in the media. Our people deserve immediate, proactive service not retroactive action eight days after the event.

The DA calls on the Eastern Cape Department of Health to act proactively and to prioritize infrastructure maintenance in all provincial facilities.

The time has come to put a stop to our patients suffering in provincial hospitals. It is time to bring Total Change to our beloved province and its people. — Celeste Barker MPL, Shadow MEC for Health.